On the occasion of 150th anniversary of the birth of Jurji Zaidan, the Library of Congress and the Zaidan Foundation held an international conference, open to the public, entitled Jurji Zaidan: His Contributions to Modern Arab Thought and Literature.
The conference was inaugurated with the welcoming remarks of Dr. James Billington, The Librarian of Congress, and the opening remarks of Dr. George Zaidan, President of the Zaidan Foundation. Ismail Serageldin’s keynote address, The Arab Nationalist Thinker – His Role and Impact on the Nahda, was presented to the international audience, that included several Arab Ambassadors, on video, as he was unable to attend the conference in person.
Jurji Zaidan was a prominent leader of the Arab Renaissance, who also introduced the historical novel into Arabic literature. Celebrations of his 150th anniversary were held in Egypt. The occasion also commemorates the 120th anniversary of the publishing house he founded, Dar-al-Hilal, one of the biggest publishing houses for periodicals in the Middle East.
Click here to see Serageldin’s paper: Jurji Zaidan: His Contributions to Modern Arab Thought and Literature.